PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
New report calls for improved mental health
support for people with neurological conditions
On 24 July 2020, the National Neurosciences Advisory Group (NNAG) published
its report on improving mental health support for people with neurological
conditions.
The report and its recommendations followed an away day held in 2019, which
Donna Malley, chair of the RCOT Specialist Section for Neurological Practice
attended on behalf of the professional body.
The report is based on presentations and discussions among people with
lived experience of neurological conditions and co-morbid mental health needs,
health professionals, NHS England and Improvement representatives, professional
bodies and patient organisations.
In a published statement, the co-chairs of the National Neurosciences Advisory
Group said: ‘The recommendations in this report come at a crucial time for people
with neurological conditions, and the NHS workforce, who have been dealing with
the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Patient organisations have reported a significant rise in the need for mental
health and befriending support in this time. Meanwhile a reduction in capacity
in neurology and mental health services has meant that many people with
neurological conditions have been unable to access, or faced significant delays in
accessing, the specialist support, treatment and therapies needed.
‘As services prepare to restart we strongly urge the government, NHS England
and Improvement, commissioners, providers and clinicians to work closely with
the neurological community to realise the recommendations in the report.’
Donna says: ‘The report identifies significant challenges and unmet need
experienced by people with neurological conditions who attempt to access mental
health support. It recommends partnership working, and that service pathways
offer a holistic, integrated, person-centred biopsychosocial approach, delivered by
a multidisciplinary team.’
She adds: ‘The role of occupational therapists in identifying and managing
mental health needs, and supporting service users to access appropriate services,
has never been so apparent.
‘Addressing fragmented health and social care is long overdue and I sincerely
hope that recommendations in this report are taken up by the various national
bodies and organisations accordingly.’
RCOT professional adviser Joel Reynolds adds: ‘There are challenges
accessing specialist support for people with the most complex needs who are
often failed by the existing processes and service designs.
‘We thank Donna for attending the day in her role as chair of the specialist
section. Moving forward, there needs to be greater collaboration within and across
services and over sector boundaries when working with the neurological
population.
‘Occupational therapists are well placed to provide specialist
input, bringing expertise and training in mental and physical health to the range
of services that work with the neurological population.
‘Many of the recommendations reflect the RCOT’s commitment to the Right
to Rehab campaign, as well at the recently published priorities for occupational
therapy research’ (see page 14).
RCOT would welcome examples from members of good practice when
meeting the mental health needs of people with neurological conditions. Please
email Joel Reynolds at: [email protected] or Donna Malley at: chair@ssnp.
co.uk. The report can be viewed and downloaded at: www.neural.org.uk/news-
24-07-2020/.
BJOT
NEXT ISSUE
After our opening editorial, in the first of our two
editor’s choice articles, Setoguchi et al review
the use of mobile apps in occupational therapy.
Following screening and evaluation, 36 apps were
identified as meeting the established criteria and
therefore being potentially clinically useful. From
these, 14 were chosen to discuss in depth based
on their clinical utility and overall features.
Our second editor’s choice article is a scoping
review from Farragher et al on what is known
about energy management education and
occupation-related outcomes in adults with
chronic diseases.
They conclude that further research is needed
to understand the impact of energy management
education in chronic disease populations beyond
multiple sclerosis, and its impact on occupational
performance.
The issue continues with D’Cruz et al
presenting a qualitative analysis of the intersection
of experiences between storytellers with acquired
brain injury and storytelling facilitators.
In-depth interviews were conducted with
adult storytellers with severe acquired brain
injury and facilitators of a storytelling advocacy
programme. Sharing stories of lived experience of
disability presents an opportunity for meaningful
occupational engagement, enabling social
connectedness and contribution to society.
Continuing the issue, Turtle et al show that
the graded Wolf Motor Function Test is a reliable
measure of upper limb function in a sample of 30
patients recruited following stroke.
Inter- and intra-rater reliability and agreement
were examined for item-level and summary
scores. Low agreement was found between raters
at the item level, therefore future studies should
assess the impact of standardised training.
Our final article explores the experience
of partner caregivers and how their partner’s
dementia impacts on their daily living and
occupational lives, with the aim of informing the
sustainability of home care and decreasing the
likelihood of formal care. Their findings suggest
that there is a role for occupational therapists
in sustaining home are by working with partner
caregivers as expert service users.
OTnews August 2020 61